ICAP at Columbia University, a global health leader situated within the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, seeks the services of a Strategic Information (SI) Director in Zambia. ICAP in Zambia has been working in partnership with the Zambia Ministry of Health since 2004 to implement diverse HIV care and treatment programs in multiple provinces. Presently, ICAP works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and provincial and district health offices in Western and North-Western provinces to provide technical assistance and evidence-based interventions to support the country’s HIV care and treatment program.

ICAP seeks to recruit two qualified candidates to be based in Solwezi and Lusaka, Zambia

Position Title: Strategic Information Director (1)

Reports to: Country Director
Location: Solwezi, North-Western Province
Date: November 2024

POSITION SUMMARY

As a highly valued member of ICAP in Zambia, the Strategic Information (SI) Unit Director will work closely with the ICAP Country Director, Senior Advisor for HIV Care and Treatment and the Clinical Coordinator including M&E Managers at the provincial level to design and implement data-driven HIV prevention, care and treatment programs, aligned with Ministry of Health and PEPFAR priorities. The SI Director will provide overall leadership, management and technical direction on SI-related activities for all projects managed by ICAP in Zambia. S/he will ensure that all SI activities are planned and implemented in consistency with ICAP’s SI program, and expectations set by donors, the Ministry of Health and other governmental entities in Zambia. The SI Director will maintain overall responsibility for SI staff and the ICAP team’s conduct of routine and specialized monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities, targeted evaluation initiatives, and knowledge management. The SI Director will liaise closely with the staff and leadership within the SI Unit and other units at ICAP headquarters in New York City.

The ideal candidate should possess at least 10 years of experience in the design and implementation of high-quality SI systems for HIV/AIDS programs, projects and activities, or a related area in low-resource settings.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Responsibilities

• Facilitate and provide leadership to ensure effective design, review, and implementation of the project’s M&E plan, including the development of project outputs, performance indicators, and targets, in line with PEPFAR indicators and reporting.
• Design and oversee the implementation of M&E systems, such as the evaluation and performance monitoring plan (EPMPT), to ensure timely collection, management, and dissemination of data for reporting progress towards the project’s objectives.
• Coordinate with the Senior Advisor for HIV Care and Treatment, Clinical Coordinator, and the clinical teams to ensure the availability of information on priority intervention for program management and coordinated action plans.
• Lead ICAP in Zambia’s technical assistance efforts to ensure provincial health offices comply with donor agencies’ reporting guidelines and monitor the accuracy of data included in all project reports and donor submissions.
• Ensure that program activity data reported by ICAP are verified by quality assurance procedures and ensure quality, timely reports on project progress to ICAP headquarters, PEPFAR, and other stakeholders and donors.
• Review regular reports (including quarterly, semi-annual and annual progress reports; both internal and those addressed to funders) and provide feedback on the quality, completeness and timeliness of all submissions.
• Review all data prior to the submission and provide timely feedback and follow-up for required corrections
• Use appropriate software, such as DHIS2 to improve data visualization and presentation to the ICAP team and to the stakeholders.
• Coordinate with clinical team around data review needs and regularly sharing performance updates and monthly data with staff for feedback and use.
• Provide technical direction to all ICAP Zambia projects on SI issues, including research, evaluation, and review of routinely collected data to monitor and evaluate programs and improve performance.
• Support the implementation of SmartCare and DHIS2 and data collection and management tools.
• Support all ICAP in Zambia projects with the development and maintenance of tools and databases to assist with data analysis and reporting.
• Implement training and on-going technical mentorship on SI for ICAP in Zambia and Ministry of staff based in the provincial and district health offices.
• Serve as a resource to ICAP in the evaluation of ongoing programs, as needed.
• Work with a variety of collaborators within Zambia on projects and activities related to SI.
• Contribute to the documentation of program successes including the development of manuscripts, abstracts and posters.
• Serve as the in-country focal point person for all M&E related components (including narratives) for ongoing reporting including semiannual and annual reports, interim progress reports, and continuation applications as required under various funding awards.
• Lead efforts of ICAP in Zambia related to developing key indicators, data collection tools and information flow to meet project needs.

Management Responsibilities

• Oversee development and monitoring of annual work plans and budgets to support SI activities.
• Manage SI-related human resources including regular appraisal of staff and performance monitoring.
• Conduct supervisory visits to assess staff performance across all levels of the SI team and provide technical assistance to improve staff performance
• Promote skills, technical capacity and abilities to be performed by SI staff
• Organize, conduct and attend national and international SI-related technical meetings to
  inform and improve program planning and implementation.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Master’s Degree in epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, demography or related field.
• Demonstrated technical leadership and expertise in HIV prevention, care and treatment, with excellent knowledge of clinical issues and current literature in HIV treatment programming.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in the management of strategic information large-scale HIV care and treatment programs, with proven capacity in managing and supervising a diverse team of technical staff.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in the design and implementation of high-quality SI systems for HIV/AIDS programs, projects and activities, or a related area in low-resource settings.
• Prior experience in training, mentoring, and supervising multi-cultural teams.
• Experience in establishing working relationships with USG agencies, MOH, and other partners
• Fluent in English oral and written, Excellent communication skills; ability to interact professionally
• Strong data management and analytical skills.
• Strong data use and visualization skills.
• The ability to use computer software programs including MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and statistical programs such as SPSS, SAS, STATA, or R is a requirement.
• Ability to travel regularly within the province.
• Complete other duties and special assignments, as assigned.

Travel Requirements

• Domestic travel requires a minimum of 30-40% of the time